We'll rebuild: Rudd

By Brendan Nicholson and David Rood

11 February 2009 — 4:00pm

COMMUNITIES wiped out by Victoria's bushfires will be rebuilt "brick by brick", Prime Minister Kevin Rudd has vowed, amid signs that the death toll from Australia's worst peacetime disaster could hit 300.

Last night, as several towns remained under imminent threat, the confirmed statewide toll stood at 181, with dozens more in hospital with horrific burns and other injuries.

A sombre Premier John Brumby warned the public to brace themselves for an eventual toll well over 200. "There's still a large number of people — in excess of 50 — who are unconfirmed and essentially these are people who the coroner believes are already deceased," he said.

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Amid a massive national outpouring of grief and generosity, and messages of sympathy from world leaders, Mr Rudd sounded a clarion call for reconstruction of devastated communities.

Committing an extra $5 million of direct assistance for victims of the fires and the Queensland floods, Mr Rudd told Parliament: "Hear this from the Government and the Parliament of the nation. Together we will rebuild each of these communities — brick by brick, school by school, community hall by community hall."

The sense of horror at the possibility that some fires were deliberately lit was underscored by Mr Rudd's description of such acts as "simply murder on a grand scale".

Mr Rudd said the fires would become etched in the national memory as a time of disaster and death.

"Fire holds a great terror for us all — its power, its speed, its roar, its relentless destruction, its capricious shifts in course, its wont of mercy," he said.

Retiring Victorian Police Commissioner Christine Nixon was confirmed yesterday as the head of a new authority to lead the recovery effort.

Authorities warned, however, that recovery and reconstruction would take years and cost hundreds of millions of dollars. It could also involve tough new fire safety standards for those who rebuild — including fire bunkers and flame-resistant materials.

As stories continue to emerge of heartbreak and miraculous survival, police say they are closing in on a suspected arsonist believed responsible for fires in Gippsland that led to the deaths of at least 21 people. A photofit image of the suspect could be released as early as today.

Recriminations are growing, with some survivors hitting out at authorities for what they say were inadequate warnings before the fires. Tension also mounted among people locked out of devastated communities as investigators continued the search for bodies.

Authorities warned that the identification process would be drawn out, with some bodies possibly unable to be identified.

A temporary mortuary to accommodate up to 300 has been established at the State Coronial Services Centre in Southbank. By yesterday it was holding 101 bodies from fire-devastated areas.

Mr Brumby said all people affected by the fires should be given an opportunity to have their say at the royal commission.

He said the inquiry would deliver an interim report before the start of the next bushfire season, with a final report due around the time of the 2010 state election.

As he toured fire-ravaged communities for a fourth day, Mr Brumby said "everything will be on the table" for the royal commission, including community readiness, fire policy and climate change.

"It is clear from the intensity, the ferocity of what occurred at the weekend, that we may well need in the future to upgrade fire plans, to upgrade construction requirements."

By last night Australians had pledged almost $30 million for the bushfire victims via more than 153,000 phone and internet donations. They also continued to rush Red Cross blood centres.

Mr Rudd said those who had lost their jobs because of the fires would be given unemployment benefits for 13 weeks and farmers and those in small businesses would be given payments up to the maximum rate of Newstart.

Payments of disaster relief funds of $1000 per adult and $400 per child had begun on Monday, and by the close of business on that day 2027 claims had been made.

More than three days after the fires erupted, the story was still making headlines and leading television news bulletins around the world.

Mr Rudd said Australia had received messages of support and sympathy from the leaders of 23 nations, including the United States, Britain, Indonesia and Thailand.

US President Barack Obama had phoned Mr Rudd and said "we should know in Australia that the prayers of himself, his wife Michelle, their family and of the American people are with the people of Victoria, people of Australia".

The Pope told Governor-General Quentin Bryce he was deeply saddened by the bushfires, and was praying for the victims, firefighters and those providing help.